Hi mksphoto,

An 80-200mm f2.8 along with a 28-70mm f2.8 pretty much covered the indoor highschool sports venues for me using 35mm film cameras. I could consistently get 1/250 second shooting ASA 1600 film. Taking into account the 1.5 digital factor, I'd want to supplement those two zooms with something wider yet, perhaps a fast super-wide prime.

The 80-200mm would be a lovely lens for field sports, but indoors you will rarely use the zoom - the lens will mostly be jammed at the 80mm end. It could be useful for close-ups on player faces, catching their emotions, but extremely tight for getting any game interaction unless you can find an unobstructed view from across the gym or from up in the stands. In sports photography as in retail, location is everything.

If the 18-135mm were a non-varying F2.8 lens, it would be a dream come true for indoor sports. I suspect that even at ISO1600, you would not be able to get the shutter speeds you need, but if you can arrange it, try testing it in the venues where you will be shooting. If not, look for a lens in that range with a fixed aperture of F2.8.

Realize that many professional sports shooters use the 4MP D2H, so with your 10MP camera, you can afford to crop. Shooting a bit loose with a somewhat wider angle assures that you get all the action in the frame. This specially true of volleyball where all the strategy is based upon keeping the path of the ball random and unpredictable.

Basketball is quite linear and predictable and you can track to ball much more easily. With gymnastics and wrestling you have plenty of time to prefocus and compose since you know exactly where the peak action will take place.

If you expand into field sports high-school football, soccer, baseball and so on at night, the 80-200mm would be ideal. For day-time field sports, and track meets, your present lens would probably suffice, though the 18-200 VR would be a better choice.